Even Roses Are Red
by Blondie B. Happy
Summary: "Hey Annabeth. I'm writing this letter to tell you that I'm leaving. Hopefully not for good, but me being a son of Poseidon, I'm only a danger when I'm near you. I want you to be safe. I'll miss you. I love you always—Percy, forever your Seaweed Brain." Oneshot, AU, Rated T.


**Happy Thanksgiving! I'll update Blood of Olympus soon! This will have typos, OOCness, and it's AU. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Annabeth Chase found the first letter on her bed in the Athena Cabin when she was sixteen years old.

The year was 1999 and it was near midday (11:13 to be exact), the air chilly as it was almost December. The trees had lost their leaves and the grass was dead. She remembered that day not only because it was the first letter, but because the sun didn't shine.

Not once the entire day.

She walked into the cabin, hugging her small jacket around her body. Annabeth wanted nothing more than to find Percy and go snuggle with him by the campfire, but that would have to wait until that night.

Annabeth realized that she actually hadn't seen Percy all day, and she wondered where he was. He hadn't even been at breakfast. She snorted to herself. Some romantic he was.

They'd both come to camp early for winter break to spend more time together—and yeah, to skip some school. But so far, Percy had been acting very distant. He was quiet, which was a first, and he always seemed to be deep in thought. Weird.

Since she was covered in mud, thanks to Travis, she walked to her bed to find an old pair of jeans. But something else caught her eye. It was a piece of notebook paper with a hastily scrawled message across it. The hand writing looked shaky and terrible, so bad that she struggled to decipher it. Dyslexia made it no better.

Finally, Annabeth recognized the writing to be Percy's, and with bemusement she read it to herself.

"_Hey Annabeth. I'm writing this letter to tell you that I'm leaving. Hopefully not for good, but me being a son of Poseidon, I'm only a danger when I'm near you. I want you to be safe. I need you to be safe because if you get hurt, then there is no point in me living on. Annabeth, you are my everything._

_I know this is abrupt, but I couldn't bear to face you. I've been thinking about this for days now, and I've finally come to this conclusion. If I talked to you, or saw your face, I would want to stay with you, and I can't be selfish right now. I need to think about you and your wellbeing not my own._

_Don't forget about me, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I don't know what I'll do, but I'll make the world a safer place so that we can be together. Annabeth, just want to be with you. You know that demigods are usually killed in battle, and I'm a son of Poseidon. They're immediately attracted to me like I am to you. I believe that with age my trace will fade. If I kill these monsters they'll stop hurting us and the ones that we love._

_I will keep writing to you when I can, I promise. I'll miss you. I love you always—Percy, forever your Seaweed Brain."_

Her world collapsed around her. She read it once, and then three times. Her hands started to shake.

This had to be a prank, something Travis was doing. Maybe Conner. But that again, she hadn't seen Percy all day. No. He was still here. He wouldn't leave her. He wouldn't. He couldn't.

But he had.

. . . . . .

She received the next letter in 2000, in February. By that time she believed Percy to be dead.

The entire camp didn't know what to think. The fact that Percy was gone made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't even think about him, out there, killing monsters so that they could be together. She couldn't stand the fact that she hadn't seen him in a couple months.

He hadn't wrote to her, and weather seemed to keep getting colder.

Annabeth had gone on quests with some of her friends, searching for Percy, but it was to no avail. Percy was missing or dead and they had no idea where he was or where he was supposed to be.

She was becoming a bit of a heartbroken hermit. She wasn't talking to people but continuously training, becoming the best fighter in the camp. She refused to go back to school but to finish her education at camp.

Annabeth found the letter in her bedroom again, and her heart stopped once more.

"_Hey Wise Girl. I don't have long, but I am alive, but only because I love you. I've been fighting way too much but I feel exhilarated. I hope you are alright. I am but I'm not at the same time. I miss you so much. I hope you alright. Wait, I already said that. Whoops. Anyway, I love you. Stay safe. I'm trying my best. Love always, Percy."_

Annabeth ran outside.

"He's alive!" she screamed to anyone that'd listening, like she was mad. "He's alive!"

Then she started crying tears of joy. Because he wasn't there, but he was living and breathing, and that gave her joy. For now, that was enough.

. . . . . .

Months passed. Annabeth got the next letter on her seventeenth birthday that July.

This time it was different. She found a single rose by the letter that was next to her pillow, right when she woke up. She didn't notice it at first. In fact, she hadn't even realized that it was her birthday until she read the letter.

Annabeth stretched leisurely and settled back onto the bed, her muscles aching from Capture the Flag the night before. It was bad not having Percy on her team. No one could replace him. No one was as good as fighting as he was. No one was a better best friend or boyfriend.

On most days Annabeth tried not to think about him, because that just made her think about him dead, red blood streaked across his chest from being murdered. She hated the color red. She liked sea green because it reminded her of Percy and of the sea. Annabeth blinked sleepily and rolled over, then gasped in the sharp pain.

Something that stabbed her!

No, it was a thorn, she realized. There was a red rose on her pillow next to a folded up letter on fancy cardstock rather than notebook paper. She smiled brightly and snatched the rose up, sniffing it. It smelled lovely and she loved it because it was a symbol of love. She felt like an Aphrodite girl, her insides all warm and fuzzy.

She unfolded it.

"_Hello my love. Jeez, that was formal, but I couldn't help myself. Again, I can't be long. But Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Owl Head. I just wanted to wish you a special day. I love you so much it's freaking ridiculous. _

_Do me a favor and tell my mother that I love her and that I miss her too. I hope that's not too much of a hassle for you. I miss her a lot and I don't have time to write her letters. You are my main priority._

_Everything is fine with me. In fact, I just got back from Montana. I know, it sounds boring, but it was beautiful and practically god and monster free. Maybe in the future we could live there together. I think you'd actually like it. _

_Happy Birthday again. I hope that I can see you soon—Percy."_

Annabeth just wondered how long soon would be.

. . . . . .

.

Nothing happened in 2001.

.

. . . . . .

Once again, Annabeth believed Percy to be dead. She was eighteen and in college by the time the next letter arrived in her dorm room, late one night (10:05 she was pretty sure) in April of 2002.

She walked into her room, ready to do her homework like she every night. But she was nearly struck dead when she found a note attached to her fridge. She gasped loudly and tore it off.

"_Annabeth, it's been too long. Too much has happened. I'm so proud of you for getting into NYU, though you probably had no trouble doing so. I hate myself for not talking to you sooner. I love you. Percy."_

"NO!" she screamed. That couldn't be it. Was he okay? Would she ever see him again? When would he come back to her? She threw the note on the ground.

She didn't do any of her work that night.

. . . . . .

Annabeth received the next letter when she was twenty in October, on the 30th. The year was 2003.

"_I'm alright. I hope you are too. I'll try to come back soon, I promise. I ran into a lot of monsters and I just got out of the hospital. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to talk to you, but I'm okay now. I was just a little knocked up that's all. I still love you and I hope you still love me._

_You probably are wondering now what the point is in what I am doing. You probably believe that it won't even make a difference. And now, I'm not so sure it will either, but I can't come back now. There are so many monsters after me. When I started this quest, I guess I was too naïve in what I was doing._

_I just wanted to make the world a better place, but it's not working out right anymore. I'll admit it, I'm scared. I wanted you to be okay, and I thought that if I killed some monsters that it would help. That maybe it would make me more worthy to be with someone as amazing as you are. I guess that was a mistake. I wish that I had stayed with you, but now there is no turning back. _

_When all is safe I'll come back. Wait for me, I can't be too long—Seaweed Brain."_

He'll be back soon, she said to herself. Soon.

. . . . . .

Soon was exactly soon. She received another letter in 2004, along with a bouquet of roses. But this letter was delivered to her door by a mailman.

Annabeth set the bouquet on the table. The roses were red, the color of blood, which made her wonder about Percy being hurt. What if he was wounded or dying right now? Blood would be on him. But also the color of love, which was what she would always feel for Percy. She still hadn't moved on. Hadn't dated another person. Percy was it for her. She hoped it was the same.

They were beautiful. She touched the silky petals before looking at the little note that was in the bouquet.

"_I love you. I'm trying."_

That was all that the note said.

The time was 1:46 PM. It was a sunny day.

. . . . . .

.

Nothing happened in 2005.

.

. . . . . .

.

Nothing happened in 2006.

.

. . . . . .

Annabeth was 25, and it was cold day. The time was midnight. It had been so long since she had seen Percy that she didn't know what to believe anymore. She was walking through the gardens outside her apartment.

But she stopped in the moonlight, deep in thought. Where was Percy now? Was he okay? Was he with someone else? Or was he dead now?

"Annabeth," said a voice. Deeper but familiar. No way.

The sun hadn't shone that day. But now in the middle of the night it seemed to.

She turned around and ran until she was in his arms. She noticed a bruise across her cheek, deep blue, but his eyes twinkled green and his black hair was unruly. His clothes were well worn and thin in the terrible weather but he felt so warm. She kissed him quickly on the lips once and then twice, deepening it. She tasted a little bit of blood—he was hurt. But he was kissing her back just as passionately.

Annabeth stepped back, and Percy smiled that goofy smile. He pulled out a rose from underneath his coat. It was red like the bit of blood smeared across his cheek, but he didn't seem to mind it.

"Thought you would like it?" he tried, shrugging his shoulders. He looked wobbly and not in the best of health, but he was here with her.

He'd come back.

Annabeth took the red rose from him a smelled it, then threw it into the bushes. He looked a little hurt.

She just jumped into his arms again. "I missed you."


End file.
